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How I made my first million

How I Made My First Million, from Fortune Success: The inside scoop on how entrepreneurs, investors, and CEOs built their fortunes—and how you can too.
Photo of Palmer Luckey
Success
A dropout living in a trailer, he got $1 million from Peter Thiel at 19—now he’s a billionaire who says the American Dream isn’t dead
By Orianna Rosa RoyleAugust 18, 2026
A Gen Xer sold his company for $1.6 billion. He kept less than $100 million and gave the rest away because he doesn’t ‘believe in billionaires’
Success
A Gen Xer sold his company for $1.6 billion. He kept less than $100 million and gave the rest away because he doesn’t ‘believe in billionaires’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 26, 2026
Bill Holland gesturing
Success
He went from working in a factory to being rich enough to retire at 32—but 3 decades later, this millionaire still works and takes public transport
By Preston ForeJuly 7, 2026
Chris Hulatt co-founder of Octopus Group
Success
A 2-year taste of the office was enough to make 3 grads quit. Now they run a $13.2 billion investment firm: ‘We didn’t want a traditional job again’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 2, 2026
Content creator Logan Walter
Success
This Gen Zer dropped out of college to become an influencer—now he’s a millionaire from selling products like Medicube and Neutrogena on TikTok Shop
By Emma BurleighMay 11, 2026
Mark Zuckerberg once gave a Facebook engineer startup advice at 2 a.m. while ‘hanging out with all the interns’—she quit and raised millions after
Success
Mark Zuckerberg once gave a Facebook engineer startup advice at 2 a.m. while ‘hanging out with all the interns’—she quit and raised millions after
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 6, 2026
Suze Orman once said earning more than $800,000 would make her ‘sick to my stomach’—but that turning down Oprah Winfrey cured her self-doubt
Success
Suze Orman once said earning more than $800,000 would make her ‘sick to my stomach’—but that turning down Oprah Winfrey cured her self-doubt
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 2, 2026
Meet the founder who started over at 50 and worked 20-hour days to build a multimillion dollar cookie dough empire—and still won’t take a day off
Europe
Meet the founder who started over at 50 and worked 20-hour days to build a multimillion dollar cookie dough empire—and still won’t take a day off
By Orianna Rosa RoyleApril 26, 2026
Emma Grede—the self-made millionaire behind the $5 billion Skims empire—says it all began with an audacious cold call to Kris Jenner: ‘The difference between me and someone else is, I made it happen’
Success
Emma Grede—the self-made millionaire behind the $5 billion Skims empire—says it all began with an audacious cold call to Kris Jenner: ‘The difference between me and someone else is, I made it happen’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleApril 16, 2026
Philippines’ first male Olympic gold medalist in history was given a fully furnished $550,000 condo and a lifetime supply of ramen to go with his medals
Success
Philippines’ first male Olympic gold medalist in history was given a fully furnished $550,000 condo and a lifetime supply of ramen to go with his medals
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 4, 2026
Photo of Alexis Ohanian
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was ‘gonna invent a career.’ He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
Fitness mogul Kayla Itsines
Success
Kayla Itsines became a millionaire at 22 and sold her fitness app for $400 million—buying a gas station paid her rent
By Emma BurleighJanuary 30, 2026
Hinge CEO says he bribed students with Kit Kats to get the $550-million-a-year business off the ground: ‘I had to beg and borrow a lot‘
Success
Hinge CEO says he bribed students with Kit Kats to get the $550-million-a-year business off the ground: ‘I had to beg and borrow a lot‘
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 12, 2025
Meet Luana Lopes Lara: The 29-year-old ex-ballerina spent college summers working for Ray Dalio and Ken Griffin—now she’s the youngest female self-made billionaire
Success
Meet Luana Lopes Lara: The 29-year-old ex-ballerina spent college summers working for Ray Dalio and Ken Griffin—now she’s the youngest female self-made billionaire
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 4, 2025
Alex Bouaziz, Deel's CEO
Success
Deel’s CEO was told to sack his entire leadership team—he ignored other founders, kept the original $0 crew and is now running a $17 billion giant
By Orianna Rosa RoyleNovember 19, 2025
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Energy
U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oilplaceholder alt text
By Sasha RogelbergAugust 17, 2026
Success
A dropout living in a trailer, he got $1 million from Peter Thiel at 19—now he's a billionaire who says the American Dream isn't deadplaceholder alt text
By Orianna Rosa RoyleAugust 18, 2026
Success
Billionaire Gen Zer dropped out of high school to launch his startup at 17—now he’s the richest self-made 25-year-old in the U.K and all of Europeplaceholder alt text
By Emma BurleighAugust 17, 2026
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